The lead/lead oxide secondary cell as a teaching resource

Abstract

The assembly and use of a laboratory version of a secondary cell based on the lead–lead oxide system is described. The cell is easy to construct, sufficiently robust for student use, and has a conveniently low practical capacity of about 5 mA h. This modest cell capacity allows cell assembly, electrode formation and discharge characterization experiments to be completed by students within the time available in typical practical classes. The laboratory cell may therefore be used to demonstrate typical secondary cell performance much more conveniently than would be possible using commercially available cells.